In the USA, flight delays begin in the second week of the shutdown. What the media is writing
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- In the USA, flight delays begin in the second week of the shutdown. What the media is writing
In the United States, a shutdown is underway for the second week, in which federal employees do not receive funding. This began to lead to flight delays due to a lack of dispatchers. At the same time, signals are coming from the White House that employees who have been sent on vacation will not be compensated for downtime. What the world's media write about the shutdown and its possible completion is in the Izvestia digest.
CNN: shutdown leads to flight delays in the United States
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that Chicago's O'Hare International Airport will experience a shortage of air traffic controllers. The department's plans during the shutdown indicate that there will also not be enough specialists in Newark, Las Vegas, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas. Delays due to staff shortages are expected at both major Houston airports.
CNN
The aviation problems began just a week after the work stoppage began, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said more and more air traffic controllers were taking sick days. Like employees of the Transportation Security Administration, air traffic controllers are considered key employees and must work despite government funding cuts.
The National Association of Air Traffic Controllers says that the consequences of even a small number of flight controllers' refusals to work show how understaffed they are and how fragile the air traffic control system is. In Burbank, California, control of the airport passed to the pilots themselves, which led to a reduction in security.
The Washington Post: The White House does not guarantee payment to employees after the shutdown
The White House Office of Administration and Budget (OMB) stated in a new draft memo that federal employees who have been placed on unpaid leave are not eligible for automatic arrears after the government shutdown ends. The internal letter claims that the law on guaranteed payment of wages to employees on unpaid leave, adopted by Congress in 2019, does not provide for such measures.
The Washington Post
"Legislation that will put an end to the current budget shortfall must include clear language about allocating funds to pay unpaid employees on unpaid leave, otherwise such payments will not be made," Mark Paoletta, OMB's general counsel, wrote to Russell Vaught, director of management.
Lawmakers are currently considering a seven-week interim measure that would simply extend federal funding at the current level. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives last month, but has not yet been considered in the Senate. It does not contain any additional provisions on salary arrears. Current laws only create the conditions for Congress to authorize compensation, otherwise it will not come automatically.
Bloomberg: Gold prices rise at record levels amid the shutdown
Spot gold prices exceeded $4,000 per ounce for the first time. Concerns about the US economy and the government shutdown gave a new impetus to the rapid rally. This is a significant event for gold bars, which were trading below $2,000 just two years ago, and now their returns exceed those of stocks this century. Gold has jumped more than 50% this year amid uncertainty over global trade, the independence of the Federal Reserve System, and U.S. financial stability.
Bloomberg
The rise in gold prices has become particularly relevant as investors seek protection from potential market shocks following the government funding impasse in Washington. The beginning of the Fed's monetary policy easing cycle has also been a boon for gold, which does not generate interest. Investors reacted by investing in exchange-traded investment funds (ETFs), with gold bullion-backed ETFs showing the largest monthly inflows in more than three years in September.
Goldman analysts have raised their gold forecast for December 2026 to $4,900 per ounce from $4,300. Among other precious metals, silver rose 2.3% to reach $48.9389 per ounce, the highest level since April 2011. Platinum and palladium also rose in price.
Associated Press: quiet negotiations to end the shutdown have begun
Republicans, who have a majority in Congress, believe they have a political advantage and can fend off Democrats' demands to quickly finance health insurance subsidies as part of any plan to end the shutdown. But the Democrats have strengthened, they are convinced that Americans are on their side in the fight to prevent an impending spike in healthcare prices. However, there are obvious signs of discomfort behind the scenes.
Associated Press
A group of senators, Republicans and Democrats, in an indefinite composition, is discussing options for solving the problem of health insurance. One of them, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, came up with a plan. Two prominent Republicans, Representative Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia and Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, said something needed to be done to stop the rise in health insurance rates. And [US President Donald] himself Trump has made it clear that he is open to negotiations with Democrats over their demands to maintain health subsidies.
Earlier, the US president said that negotiations were already underway because he wanted to provide "excellent healthcare" for people, but after a few hours he changed his tone, saying that the government must first resume work. Republicans claim that Congress will be able to solve the problem of health insurance in the coming months, but Democrats are fighting to solve this problem right now.
The New York Times: Democrats negotiated with Trump on health insurance
The day before the government shutdown, two Democratic leaders in Congress, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, met with Trump in the Oval Office. They warned him that if Republicans did not agree to extend expiring health insurance subsidies, which Democrats had demanded as a condition of any government funding deal, Trump and the Republican Party would bear the brunt of the voter backlash. Trump did not dispute this, but said he would shift the blame to the Democrats.
The New York Times
This exchange helps to understand why the Democrats believe they have a political advantage in the fight to shut down the government, and why they refuse to back down from their demands, at least for now. They believe that Trump, who has long been acutely aware of the political risks associated with health care issues for Republicans, can play a key role in reaching an agreement on expiring subsidies that could end the crisis.
Democrats know that Republicans in Congress disagree about extending subsidies, and some of them, including from competing states and counties, are sounding the alarm about the upcoming increase in insurance premiums. More than half of all people who receive insurance under the Affordable Care Act live in Republican-represented constituencies. This concentration is especially high in southern states such as Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina.
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